Sick days and leaves of absence in Ontario

Q: Do I have a right to paid sick days as a worker in Ontario? Do I have a right to time off work for a family sickness or other crisis?

A: Employees covered by Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) have a host of rights with regard to sickness and medical issues, although there have been a number of changes in last five years or so.

Aside from a few exceptions, under the ESA your employer does not have to pay you for any time that you take as a sick day, or as a leave of absence unless you’re in a union or you have a workplace policy or employment contract that gives you this right. That being said, you may still qualify for EI sick benefits or other special benefits (and/or disability insurance benefits if you have a policy e.g. through work).

To provide a few examples, employees covered by the ESA currently have a right to at least:

Three (3) unpaid sick days.

Five (5) paid days of domestic or sexual violence leave.

Employees may also qualify for one, or more, unpaid ‘Leaves of Absence’ related to sickness or medical issues, among other things. These include but are not limited to:

Infectious Disease Emergency Leave for COVID etc. (indefinite duration, unpaid).

Family Responsibility Leave (3 unpaid days) – if a specified relative of employee is ill, injured, or has an urgent issue.

Critical Illness Leave (17 weeks when caring for adults, or 37 weeks when caring for a child) – can be taken if a specified relative’s state of health has changed and their life is at risk as a result of an illness or injury.

Bereavement Leave (variable days, unpaid).

Employees and Businesses should also keep in mind that the ESA does not exist in a vacuum, on its own. In fact, Ontario’s Human Rights Code (“Code”) takes precedence over the ESA, to the extent of any conflict between the two Acts. The Human Rights Code does not create a right to paid sick days or paid leave per se, but it does provide a much more profound, robust, set of rights to a broader array of workers, and for much longer time periods, that will cover workers, for instance when they are dealing with a long-term disability or a protracted medical issue.

If you are a worker and contractor in Ontario, or a business, and you want to get legal advice on this topic, please call me at 905-572-5806 or email me at wjamieson@rossmcbride.com.

This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.